Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS World 'Championship 250cc M~ocroSs Series Round 12: Belgian GP . t Wt ounce (Left) California's Tallon Vohland scored his first overall victory of the season In Belgium. After his points reinstatement and a better overall score, Stefan Evarts (right) took over the points lead from Marnlcq Bervoets (below) In their homecountry showdown. By Alex Hodgkinson KESTER, BELGIUM, AUG, 18 "~~ hen two do~~ are fighting over a bone, .. That was the thought on Tallon Vohland's mind as he scored his first overall victory of the world 250cc MX Biiefly-,---_ ... Tallon Vohland is set to switch to the Rinaldi Vamaha'team next year, Carlo Rinaldi.would only admit' to the team having contact -with' the American. but it is 'believed 'that'on)y a few' l)'linOr details 'halle to be discussed with Yamaha,'de,sperate for success again, prepared to accede to' V.ohland's insis, tence, that he wants to bring. Paul Trevaihan with him as tuner. and not merely in the role of :fitter. " which is the traditional role of Rinaldi mechanics. No official comment carr be ~de . by any party for legal reasons until after the final GP. and Kawasa~j's Jan De Groot has' Indicated a desire to retain both the American an'd his mechanic in a three·man team ·with campaign to go into the final round with his hopes of pouncing to steal away the, title at the last gasp still intact. On home ground at the rugged Kester track 20 miles west of Brussels, a 22,000-strong crowd saw Stefan Everts and Marnicq Bervoets each win a moto, but it was the more consistent CalifomeXPense of h,is ieamll:)ate's. "i gave orders before each .race that they must pull .over for Tallon," pe 'Groot said., "But I clearly. didn't emphasize it strongly ,enough. 'I.·also. signaled them tw,? lap:s from the errd of the ,second race, but / was'nqt standing with. tneir meGhan· ics and they claim riot tn'have seen it.; There is more discipline in the Suzuki team where , Weri'rer Dewit already was holding bac'k from his team leader as ea'r1y as round three in Ger: many. . " Y.v" Demaria cral'hed during qualif(cation and had to have Rain·killing injectjons for an injury to the little finger of hiS left hand. $an. dro Puzar was a non·arrival because of a knee 'injury sustained in France. while W_r . Dew,it rQ\le in pain after damaging a thumb in Fmnce. . Jocke Kart__ was a non-arrival. "Jocke .went to the pqspital Thurs~ to h~ve' the pl?s· v.... Demaria is believed to'be interested'in ter taken off his left hand," Colin Reed said. a return' to 'Honda, bot after the successful "But the bone just above th,! knuckle had (lot appeal on the 'fuel 'e~clusion: there' is no"" no healed' properly, and the operation ~ad to be . longer anything standing in the way of a contin- repeated. He goes back again in 19 days, and uation of the multipfe:-year commitment to ea:ch . a 'decision ..."i11 be made then whether or not he other tietween Honda 'and RWJ, whose boss can ride in Switzerland." , .Colin Reed wants to retain both Everts and Karl~son .. Wit~ little opiion for Demaria except Pit .Bei..... returned with a miraculous ,second to stay with the Rinal!li team on their terms, ..place!9 the·dominant Everts in qualification .BartOlini. who said'in Kester that 'he wants to .Iess then a mQnth aftedireaking the scaphoid stay in the 250 class. probablY will' 'rid.e for .the·. bone in hiS left hand, an InJUlY wh,cb normally satellite ·Ezzereta team again.. At Suzuki. both .means a three-mon'th lapse from racing. "It is a Bervoets and Dewit 'have' one' more year of .. new operation !leveloped by Dr, Werb,!r at the ,two·Yea.~ c'ontr~Cts to run. ' Munich Uniyersity Clinic," Beirer said,' "I am 9ne qf the first peo~le to have been operated 'Jan,~ Groot was annoyed .by p(ess "om-. 'on this way. 'Previo~s attempts to pin su'ch merit after the French GP that his team leade< 'I;>reaks haye all fail.,p to po/d, but Or. Werber' 'T"lion Vohlilnd' had 'Iost val.uable ~hampi has inserted a titanium pin Ellong the bone. . onship points to teammates Belley and Tortelli Unless'there is an infectiOn, arrd that is very , .at l!fendic. Coupled with the point lost'to. Van unlikely with a'titanium pin,.1 probably. will never. , Rees· in San Marino. not to -mention a collision . need to have the pin re"!"Oved. I have' been out' with' the 'Dutchman in France. Vohland has training on Tuesday and Wedriesday this week thus lost seven points in the .title chase at'the without problems. " ' Torteni and Bolley. ' . ian who scored top honors on the day to go to the Swiss finale just 21 points shy of new pacesetter Everts. . It was a good week for the defending champion, who had recently been reinstated as double winner of June's British GP by the Disciplinary Court, and thus turned around a 45-point deficit on Bervoets into an eight-point lead. The home-soil confrontation of Everts and Bervoets, separated by just one point after the midweek reinstatement of the former's British GP double win, lasted just 100 yards in the first race. From a perfect choice of gate, Everts emerged from the first turn third to Rob Herring and Vohland while Bervoets was struggling to pick up' his Suzuki. With only sixth choice of gate, the Onetime runaway points leader gambled on the inside gate and got tangled up with Remy Van Rees and Jorgensen while Frederic Bolley smashed into the back of the melee. After a short tussle with Van Rees as they tried to retrieve their bikes, knowledgeable onlookers could only shake their heads as it became more and more evident that Bervoets had blown it mentally. "1 think it would be better if he got on with the race rather than tussling with Van Rees," Michele Rinaldi said. It took him so long to restart the bike," Shayne King said. "There was no swing to his kick. He seemed completely demoralized." When Bervoets fell again after 10 minutes, in a rutted corner in the treelined section, the feeling of utter despair seemed to hover over him. "Lady Luck" also was not on his side. No sooner had Bervoets lifted his bike than another rider came charging around the turn to knock him down again, and he was again dead last by the time his Suzuki restarted on the 20th kick. By the finish, Bervoets was 12th with a last-lap pass on Mark Eastwood. Up front, Everts needed 10 minutes to establish total control. Herring had soon given way to Vohland, and on lap three Everts also sneaked past his RWJ teammate before the Brit lost it on an uphill section. "The back end kicked around and spat me off," Herring said. "I couldn't even get back to the bike until the pack was past, and then the bars were twisted." Everts was content to follow VohIand at first as they drew relentlessly away from the Yamahas of Andrea Bartolini and Yves Demaria but then commenced his attack. Vohland did not give up without a fight, and the eventual pass came as they leaped back into the woods after the duo charged side by side through three comers. "I was just making too many mistakes," Vohland said. "Stefan, on the other hand, is riding so smooth. There was no way I could have beaten him. It was no dishonor to finish second to him today." As the immaculate Everts strolled to maximum points, Vohland's second place was put in doubt on the last lap. "I suddenly started to get fuel-feed problems," Vohland said. "1 must have got dirt in the fuel line. 1 couldn't be running out of fuel because we fitted the

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